Fans Remember The Byrds

 I was eleven years old when I first heard The Byrds.  I was literally playing in a garage band with Tim Headrick, Gary Geisinger, and Sam Houston when Gary first brought his copy of 5D over so we could learn Hey Joe.  We also talked about learning The Learjet Song.  Gary was in high school (the rest of us were all between fifth and sixth grade) and he was all into electronics.  He built his own fuzz box for his guitar, and had HAM radio gear all over.  He and Roger would probably have gotten along great.

I listened to that whole album a BUNCH of times while it was at my house, and then started working my way back through other Byrds records.  I'd been a Beatle fan from '64 on, but these guys were Americans and that meant we could do it too.

McGuinn's guitar sound, and his vocal style influenced me very heavily over the years, and you can still hear traces of it in my music today.  Nothing rings like a 12 string Rick.  And those harmonies are just beyond compare.

It was a real highlight of my life to get to work with Roger McGuinn putting this website together, corresponding often, and eventually getting to talk with him and Camilla in Memphis in February of 2002.  Two very nice people indeed.  I look forward to seeing him again in the future, to hearing more of the great music he continues to make, and to continue pointing new generations of fans in the direction of the music.

I never saw The Byrds live, but did see the first iteration of the Byrds Tribute that went around with Gene Clark, Michael Clarke, Skip Batten, and John York, along with folks like Rick Danko, Blondie Chapman, and Rick Roberts.  I sat with my friend Les Crewse in the second row of the Rainbow Music Hall in Denver, sometime around 1984 and sang along with every tune.  A non-Byrd moment that was still cool was when Rick Danko came on with an acoustic guitar after a break and sang, "It Makes No Difference", and Les and I were providing harmonies.  Rick leaned around the microphone at one point and said, "Nice harmonies", and gave us a smile.  Worked for me. 

I'd like to sing one with Roger sometime.

Thanks for the great Byrds site. I just wanted to share that in  1996, I went to New York for Les Paul's Birthday celebration at the Irridium. After talking with Les and presenting him with a proclamation from the City of Waukesha, Wisconsin Roger McGuinn hit the stage. He and his Rickenbacker were soloing into all of the Byrds hits. He was great and it was a treat to be able to listen to him.

GEORGE RICHARDSON ---

When I was 16 and a junior in high school I got the chance to meet my musical idols.

The Byrds were always it for me. I liked the Beatles and the Stones but Byrds were what I would buy. I saw them at a WKBW AM event in Buffalo when I was only 14. By then the line up had changed considerably and John York was playing bass. My older brother bought every album. When I was 16 I met the fine men who composed the Byrds at that time. Roger, Gene Parsons and Clarence White agreed to accompany a bunch of friends and I from the Batavia, New York Holiday Inn to a house about a mile away. Skip Batten played bass at that time and had a broken foot so luckily (for him) he had a valid excuse to weasel out of having breakfast with a bunch of star struck loyal fans for life who were about ten years their junior. Our mothers cooked for them and Clarence liked his eggs cooked hard. I suspect he didn't really like eggs at all but cooked hard was the way he had them and the way I have ordered them ever since. These men impressed our mothers with their fine manners and demeanor almost as much as they had impressed us with their music.

Over the years I have seen Roger, and whoever is playing with him, time and time again. I'm still impressed. I mourned when Clarence White died and again when Gene Clark passed. I had a chance to shake Gene's hand at a performance in Houston once. I told him he was my favorite vocalist ever. He really was, and still is. The Byrds will live on because people like myself will never let them die. Thanks Roger.

As a six year old kid, I sat under a chair while my older brothers and sisters watched these guys on "Hullabaloo". When the guy with the square glasses started singing "take me for a trip upon your magic swirling ship" I thought, "Wow, that guy's cool".

There is no better way for a modern American to start learning about our great folk music tradition than to take a look at the substantial collection of music done by the Byrds and their many, many offshoots. And of course it's more than folk too.

As a teenager, I started buying Byrds albums for $2.88 from cutout bins. This was about 1977. Almost twenty years later I still listen to them all, now of course on tape or CD. There is no better entertainment value than the boxed set.

In 1991 through a series of events too long to recount here, my wife and I met Roger and Camilla McGuinn. Since that time we have become close personal friends. The Roger McGuinn that I know is not the stage persona, or the "rock star". The Roger that I know is a very funny, intense, intellegent, warm, emotional, inquisitive man of deep faith and dedication to his beliefs. He wears his heart on his sleeve and he loves and appreciates his fans.

Since the relationship between the McGuinn's and the Lee's is personal we would prefer it remain private however I don't think that Roger would mind if I recounted the "8 Miles High Over Cuba" story.

A few years ago my wife and I were vacationing for a few days in southern Florida with Roger and his wife, Camilla. Since we all like adventures and since I have a Lear Jet, we decided to go to Grand Cayman for dinner. It's only about a 40 minute flight if you cut across Cuba. As we entered Cuban airspace it was obvious that we were all a little nervous since the Cubans had been vacillating on giving us clearance, and a Lear has the radar profile of a fighter jet! As we approached Cuban airspace, we reached an altitude of 42,000 feet at which point Roger broke into an A Cappela version of "8 Miles High". It broke the tension and we all got a good laugh.

I was in high school and college during the sixties and found that no other music touched me like the Byrds' music. I still get a feeling from their songs that I get from nowhere else. There is such an innocent, fresh quality to their work. Most of us need that at times.

I had the pleasure of seeing and hearing Roger perform live at the Pensacola Spring Festival in 1993. What a treat. He comes across as positive, friendly, and glad to be alive! He signed an autograph for my lady friend and me. At that time I looked like a slightly younger version ofJerry Garcia, and I think my appearance accounted for the smile I sawwhen he signed the program. His music, as you might expect, was at once old and new--from Mr. Tambourine Man to King of the Hill.

In 1974, I was finishing my undergraduate study in art at UCLA. One day, whilewalking through the sculpture garden, adjacent to the film school, I noticed a crew (which I think was taping, not filming) setting up to shoot a band. Nothing so unusual, but when I heard the music--wow--the sound was unmistakable. Roger and his 12-string. What fun it was to just happen upon that! I believe it was a trio or quartet. The only other musician I think I recognized was the drummer--Ricky Fataar--who was performing with the Beach Boys around that time.Somehow I remember that the film student was Billy of the pop group Dino, Desi & Billy, which would account for the music industry connection to Roger. It would be a kick to see that tape today!

I saw Roger for the second time within a year at the Troubadour as a solo act. For the last number he used a 12-string guitar with a light-show built into it, a transluscent front panel. I loved that show, too.

I met Roger through a mutual friend back in the sixties. It was NYC and Roger (he was Jim back then) was playing for Bobby Darrin at the Copa. We wereboth single and shared mutual interests...a friendship developed and we experienced the NYC street scene together for a while. I would sit in absoluteawe as Roger would play his acoustic 12 string for hours on end in my apartment.

The "Beatles" exploded and the music scene changed. Roger went to the Coast and birthed the BYRDS.....we lost touch.

Years later we relinked....everytime Roger would tour in the Massachusetts area I would go, this year, Roger was on his Acoustical tour and I took my son to see/hear him. We were allowed back stage and both Roger and Camilla greeted us like old friends. Roger told my son of "our adventures" back when......I have new hero status at home now !!!

It is my pleasure to know Roger...as a musician without equal, and a warm and 'real' person.

Just thought I'd drop a note to my all-time hero, Roger McGuinn..He's the reason I spent every penny I had to buy a Rickenbacker 12 string guitar...I am now 44 years old and have revived my interest in music once again, forming a folk-rock two-man band doing the Byrds and other good stuff..

Music keeps me younger than my years and the memories of the Byrds and Beatles make me smile when times get tough. I got a chance to meet Roger following his concert at Catawba College in Salisbury, NC a couple of years ago..He was gracious enough to meet me and other fans after the concert and even posed with me for several photos..(I'll cherish those)..I only wish I would have brought my pick guard with me....Jim Bradshaw..Lake Norman, NC.

In 1987, I had the pleasure of seeing Roger McGuinn *seven times* in England. He was on tour with Bob Dylan and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, and since a couple of the Heartbreakers are friends of mine I went over there to see their three shows in Birmingham and four at Wembley Arena outside London.

Roger opened the show by doing a short acoustic set, then was joined by T.P. and the Heartbreakers for a full band set that included a fistful of old Byrds tunes. It was spectacular to see those songs done with a band who had such a perfect grasp of Roger's music! One night, George Harrison showed up too, and at the end of the show Dylan, Petty, Harrison, and McGuinn all joined in on "So You Wanna Be A Rock'N'Roll Star". Awesome.

To top it all off, McGuinn and Petty had just written a song called "King of the Hill" which they were including in the set (a great song that ended up on the "Back From Rio" record). Everyone was hot to record it, and so since Bob Dylan never showed up for sound check anyway, Roger and the band brought in a mobile recording truck to Wembley one day and recorded the song during sound check! I'm not sure what happened to that tape but I don't think it's the same one that ended up on the album (but hey, Roger READS this stuff so that means maybe he'll even answer this question!). What a great time! And Dylan, when he found out everyone had been having such a blast, was pretty mad that he hadn't showed up to sound check...

Anyway, about a year after that tour it was all still pretty fresh in my mind, and I had a really funny dream one morning: In the dream, Roger McGuinn came over to my house. He had his Rick 12-string with him, and since I (in real life) have one too, I pulled it out (in the dream) and we started tuning up. Then suddenly Roger switched the radio on and we found that "Turn Turn Turn" was just starting! Roger began playing along with it, and I was watching him closely, delighted, because I wanted to make sure I'd been playing it right all these years. Well, this dream really messed me up, because Roger was playing stuff that *sounded* like "Turn Turn Turn", but if you watched his hands there was no possible way it could have been! I was completely confounded by this... in fact I was so disturbed by it that I promptly woke up. Then I realized, once I was awake, that my next-door neighbor did actually have the radio on and it was actually playing "Turn Turn Turn."

Now my only question is: In the dream, Roger came over BEFORE the song came on. How did I know, when I dreamed up this dream, that the song would start just as he turned on the radio? Hmmm.... well, at least one existentialmystery has been cleared up, thanks to Roger and this Home Page. I noticedthat Roger has posted to tablature to "Turn Turn Turn" here, and so I wasable to confirm that I really *had* been playing it right. I feel a lot better now...thanks Roger!

Dear Roger:

I recently downloaded your Bryd's FAQ and have read it several times since. It's almost like playing Mr. Tambourine Man over and over.

You produced a sound unlike anything else I've ever heard in music. The soundand style of your Rickenbacker 12 string is like a piece of heaven to my ears. I remember exactly where I was and what I was doing the first timeI heard Mr.Tambouine Man on the radio... In the summer of 1965 I was taking a summer school course in high school in Parma, Ohio. I rode to school with afriend in his car. As we pulled in to the parking lot we heard Mr. Tambourine Man on the car radio. I was late for class. I can't describe how that sound moved me. It still does.

I was a promising young guitar player then. I'm a promising middle-aged guitarplayer now. Not sure what it is I'm promising anymore.

But I loved reading the material about the Byrds, and also your own personal bio. Now I need to locate "Back From Rio." I want to discover whether thereare any more of the classic McGuinn 12 string sounds on it.

First time I saw them was at the Camden County (NJ) Music Fair (theater-in-the-round under a tent!). This must have been around 1966-67 because by then Gene Clark had left the group but Jim (Roger), David, Chris and Michael were all there and I do remember them doing Eight Miles High, 5D, etc. If memory serves me, one of the opening act was Shadows of Knight doing their G-L-O-R-I-A cover. This was a very strange experience for a relatively straight suburban kid, seeing all them long-haired hippie types in the audience. But by then I was already a die-hard fan and loved every minute of the Byrds' performance (despite the poor acoustics).

Second time was at the Electric Factory in Philadelphia--don't remember the year, but it was sometime between 1968 and 1970. Acoustics much better, but if anyone recalls the Electric Factory, the creature comforts were pretty poor. Loved it.

Third time was around 1970-71 at St. Joseph's College in Philly. This was the McGuinn/White/Parsons/Battin lineup. Pretty good acoustics and a great show that ran the gamut of their repertoire, both old and new.

Since then I've seen Roger solo a few times--including at Waterloo Village in NJ (again under a tent) and at Club Bene in Sayerville, NJ. Always a great performance.

Dear Roger:

Two days ago, my company provided me with Internet access. Naturally, the 1st thing I did was to check for any information available about The Byrds or McGuinn, since I have been a rather fanatical Byrds fan for going on 30 years now. You can imagine my pleasure at discovering the Byrds Homepage - the Byrds logo from the 5th Dimension album just about blew me away! Anyway, I really can't say much beyond what I've already read from other fans about your music. I just want to express to you my deep appreciation for adding a remarkable new dimension to my life through your music.

For Byrds music was always more than just music to me; it was and is an elixir, an entry into a magic place where beauty, color and majestic sound abound. Your 12 string and exquisite voice projected me into a different universe - it was just unbelievable how it felt. By the way, this didn't happen to just me - as you very well know. Many of my friends also shared this experience, and think back on it with fondness and pleasure.

We are both older now. I'm going to hit 50 in a couple of weeks. Much of the magic has gone out of my life, but I just want you to know how much I continue to enjoy your music. My twin sons and I (you have met all three of us more than once) recently saw you perform in Boston, outside at Copley Square. That was a terrific show. I mean really - how could it get any better that that? It was a perfect day in one of the most beautiful squares in Boston, with your shimmering Rickenbacker bouncing off all the skyscrapers and a Brownstone church as your backdrop. It was really great.

Just wondering if any of you got a chance to see The Byrds perform live? I caught the last incarnation, with John Guerin on drums, at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago, December of 1972.

A horrid local act called 'Wildflowers' opened the bill. The Commander Cody and his (very) Lost Planet Airmen came on. Outside of 'Hot Rod Lincoln' and 'Smoke, Smoke, Smoke (That Cigarette)', they didn't sound like they were in the same room, let alone the same planet. Flatfooted performances, off-key, off-tempo. The crowd really wanted to like Cody and crew, but they had an extremely off night.

The Byrds appeared. The material was similar to what appears on the (Untitled) album, with material off 'Farther Along', and 'Byrdmaniax' thrown in. I seem to remember 'Jesus is Just Alright' and 'Ballad of Easy Rider', but nothing off 'Sweetheart', or 'Dr. Byrds...'. Very tight singing and playing between Clarence, Roger and Skip. Guerin didn't really fit in, but no one seemed to care. The sound was extremely good...I have never been to a concert, before or since, where the sound actually had that definition, as if it was 'layered'. The Byrds had the crowd in the palm of their collective hand.

Three encores, with Roger telling the crowd that they 'were crazy'. Yes, they were, best kind of crazy, Words really can't do justice. Don't know what else to say. Thanks, guys...Tom

I saw 3 different incarnations of the Byrds, I saw the original group when they played at my high school when "Turn, Turn, Turn" came out. They were really amazing. The thing I remember most was the cool way that Gene Clark would hit the tambourine-he had this amazing sort of rhythm going. Thats why it struck me as odd when I read in the Byrd's bio that Gene had no sense of rhythm. I next saw the Gene-less Byrds at the Whiskey A GoGo in Hollywood at the time of "Eight Miles High." Everyone wanted David to do "Heh Joe" but he was having some sort of throat problem and the doctor said he couldn't sing lead. The next time I saw the Byrds it was at the Kaleidescope on Sunset and Vine. They were a three piece then and it was the time of "Goin' Back." They were still really good, even though they kept losing members. They would take requests, the most popular being "Bells of Rhymney." In fact, at that particular gig, the opening band was the Crazy World of Arthur Brown who had the hit "Fire." The Byrds were and still are one of my faves, and like a lot of others, I got a Rick 12-string just so I can emulate that sound.

The only time I ever saw the Byrds was in New York City, at about the time that Sweetheart of the Rodeo came out. It was in Central Park, when they had concerts for $1 at the Wolman Memorial Skating Rink. My memory is most hazy at to what year it was.

I have seen David Crosby on a number of occassions, with the first time being when CS & N played Woodstock. I guess the last time was when CSN&Y played at Bill Graham's memorial concert a few years back in Golden Gate Park.

I'd never seen Roger McGuinn solo, until this year, when I was fortunate enough to see him play twice. At the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco, early this year, Roger regaled the small audience with lots of wonderful stories about his influences and stories from the era when he wrote songs at the Brill Building, and stories of playing for Bobby Darin. He played a 12 string acoustic that evening.

Just about a month ago, I saw Roger at the Sausalito Air Fair, where he told stories and played his 12 string Rick. It was really apparent to all that Roger was having a ball that day. At one point, he even said that he could have attended the opening concert of the Rock n Roll museum that same weekend, but that he was glad he played in Sausalito instead.

I've been listening to the Byrds for (yikes!) 30 years, and have to admit that Back From Rio really renewed my spark for the Byrds. And the Box Set has clearly turned me back into being a Byrds fanatic.

I remember first seeing the Byrds on either American Bandstand or Hullaballoo in the '60s. They were one of the coolest looking groups of the time, thanks, in great part, I think, to Roger's glasses. (Hey Roger, do you still have them??) Unfortunately, I never saw the group live, though I've seen Crosby twice as part of CSN and CSN&Y and have also seen one incarnation of the Flying Burritos. Am looking forward to seeing Roger one of these days.

I used to listen to naught but punk and hardcore techno. I picked up a cheap copy of the Byrds greatest hits (to steal some cheesey 60s samples) and I fell off the wagon! Now I sing along to "Sweetheart of the Rodeo" all day, and my friends have stopped coming over.

What's happening to me???

I saw the Byrds a number of times from 1968-1972. The first was at Chicago's Kinetic Playground, with Fleetwood Mac in their blues incarnation, and Muddy Waters. I had been a fan since the first album, and really was blown away by the combination of Roger and Clarence's styles. After that, they played The Auditorium Theater, Stadium, and then the Aragon Ballroom, which was described in such nice detail in the previous post. Too bad my memory of that era isn't as clear, but I recall seeing Roger play a Telecaster and a banjo in addition to the Ric. When Roger brought the banjo out the audience went nuts, so he said "Nothing fancy...." Clarence got some incredible sounds playing through a Leslie speaker cabinet, and I took a great photo of him in his white suit with purple cape. Later in the seventies I saw McGuinn, Clark, and Hillman play at Ravinia, in Highland Park which is north of Chicago. They were outstanding ,and it was the only time I saw Gene Clark perform. Roger came out on roller skates for an encore, while playing his Ric. Great memories, great music.

I got to see the latter incarnation of The Byrds twice. Once in 1971 in Columbia, SC and once in 1972 in Charleston, SC. Both times they were excellent. But then of course, I was in ecstasy at the very idea of getting to see them. They played a lot of Untitled, Farther Along and Byrdmaniax. Even though my favorite version of the band was the original '65 lineup, I could still appreciate the concerts I saw. McGuinn was the cleanest guitar player I had ever heard, he made every note ring out. I was only 15 the first time I saw them and they really impressed me. I did not care for Skip Batten as much as Chris Hillman, but he was still good in this band. I later saw Roger McGuinn and the Roger McGuinn band on the west coast in 1974-1975. If I had to limit my critique to only one word to describe all the shows I saw, it would be FUN. Thank you Roger for the obvious love you have for performing and for people in general.

Peace

I saw the 4 originals at Central Park, and again at some theatre in the village. Back then, Roger said nothing, it was all David talking. Roger and Chris looked fairly disinterested in this, but they played well. The best was when I saw the Byrds at the Fillmore with Gram Parsons and another guitar player in the back which may have been Clarence. Truthfully, I'm no Parsons fan, but the concert was GREAT! After doing variations on their recent country stuff, they came back for an extended encore and in shotgun, almost medley type, fashion, they went through one Byrds classic after another. This concert is what really hooked me on Roger. He played and sang wonderfully at center stage, talked with the audience, and obviously was the leader that night. I think I'd give half my record collection for a tape of that show. I also saw the Clarence era Byrds a few times, mostly at outdoor type affairs. The blend of Roger and Clarence's guitars was a revelation. I could never understand why that sound was used so seldom in the studio (with maybe the exception of "Just A Season." I've also seen McGuinn, Clark and Hillman at the bottom Line and Roger more times than I can count. It's still a thrill for me to see him take the stage. He's always been the "Rock and Roll Star" that I identified with the most.

Oh yeah, another real highlight was seeing Roger and Richard Thompson do "Wild Mountain Thyme" and "Goin Back" at the beautiful Albany Music Hall.

Thanks for listening!

I remember thebyrds when I was living in LA back in 1965. They even played at Fairfax High School-my alma mater. Anyway, they are a great influence in music. They do a superb job of interpreting Dylan. I would always touch basewith them during the past 30 years, all over the country. I would see them at concerts or on the street. I recall I was having a conversation with Phil Ochs at Folk City and McGuinn was there. That was the night of the advent of the 1975 Rolling Thunder Tour.

If I could do it over again, I would not forfeit the psychedelic folk- rock sound of the Byrds

When I was about 14 years old I went to my first rock concert ever. It was at Hollywood High and the band was The Byrds. I don't remember if there was an opening act...It was around the time Turn Turn Turn was out (1965-66). They showed up on stage at the height of their purest Byrddom, with Rogers doublebreasted check jacket, and granny glasses...Mike drumming like a speed freak/surfer/rock god, all eighth notes on the kick and open high hat...Crosby in full green and brown suede caped Byrdness....Chris with his Gibson bass...and Gene with turtleneck, tambourine....hair perfect....All 5 byrds with suede boots from that Italian store on Sunset...

A joy to behold indeed. They came out and played FEEL A WHOLE LOT BETTER. I was staggered. I'd never heard a band live before and this night they were on the top of their form....EXCEPT suddenly the Vox PA they had went out...but they kept on playing....soon that problem was fixed...they played a new song that night, as yet unreleased, EIGHT MILES HIGH and WHY. I kept wondering where the wonderous Bagpipe sound was coming from.....It was Jim's (Roger) Rickenbacker .....turned up loud...compressed into the cosmic black hole...treble boosted to the stars....and those harmonies....jeez. One of LA's 2 finest bands, I think.

A truly heavenly night spent flying with the Byrds..Then they all packed up and drove away in matching Porsches...

My first concert. It was all pretty much downhill from that!

In April of 1965, I received a new transistor radio for my 15th birthday. Although I lived up in the boonies (Bangor, Maine), one local radio station played the Top 40 and at night I could get WABC in New York City. As an avid Beatles fan, I looked forward to hours of listening pleasure (especially in school, using the neat new earphone). One Saturday afternoon that April, while listening to that radio laying on my little twin bed with the 1950's maple head and footboards, the Byrds' Mr. Tambourine Man burst forth. The jangly 12-string intro and unusual bass riff made me sit up quickly. It was as if somebody took my whole perspective of music (and the world for that matter) and jerked it 180 degrees. I could not believe this weird and wonderful sound. McGuinn's voice was haunting. The whole tone of the thing was so ethereal. Magical. The harmonies intoxicating. And when I saw that album cover, the distorted picture of the group inside the circle, and listened to the incredible new sounds coming out of my flimsy old record player, I was hooked. Then came the "blue" album, one of the best ever. Gene Clark's voice, touching my very soul. (Did I want a cape like David Crosby's or what?) Music, words and feelings that had real meaning to me, making me appreciate introspection and intellectual thought for the first time. And today, 30 years later, I hear those sounds and feel the same freshness of spirit that hit me then. Whata pleasure this music has been in my life.

My friends and I who are kind of like the Dead Heads of Byrds fans, saw shows just about everywhere in the area (NY) and sometimes as far away as Florida.

My most memorable was the one at South Hampton College with the Burrito`s and the Fillmore East shows. Every time you played the Fillmore we would get tickets to both shows. To this day I miss the Clarence White Byrds. They were magical shows. As the years went on, I still went to as many of your shows as possible. Along the way I got married and have 7 kids, so it did get a little difficult at times. Throughout the eighties I kept waiting for that next McGuinn album that never came. I would see your acoustic shows at the Bottom Line or the Lone Star Cafe and wonder if you would ever get another band together. Around late 85 my excesses in alcohol and pot smoking caught up with me. So I cleaned up my act and have been sober 10 years now. Now I think I understand why you you go it alone. It is probably more conducive to long term sobriety, not having to deal with putting out albums and touring with bands. Besides you have given this Byrd fan enough great music to last 10 lifetimes. Anyway thanks for all the thrills over the years and I hope many more to come.

The instrumentalists for R.E.M. backed up McGuinn twice in the Georgia area, once in 1988 and once (I believe) in 1986 or thereabouts. The latter of these shows, at the 40 Watt Club, was advertised as a solo act and the before-intermission part was solo, just Roger and his Mcguinn- model Ric. It was, however, no secret that something was up, because the stage was set up for a band including multiple standup mics and a full drumkit. Sure enough, after intermission McG was accompanied by that certain bunch of Big Rock Stars(tm). They knew their stuff, too -- clearly had been playing Mcguinn and Byrds material for a long time.

Wonderful show! Among the Mcguinn and/or Byrds performances I've been lucky enough to catch it ranks a (very close) second to a show by the Byrds, circa _Sweetheart_ and _Dr. Byrds_, at the Glenn Memorial Chapel at Emory University. This one stands out because Glenn Memorial has such superb acoustics -- the show was monstrously loud, of course, but also absolutely clean; no aural mud anywhere; if you chose to listen to one player in particular you could hear each note he played. Just behind the Mcguinn/REM show is an Athens performance (at U.Ga.) by the outfit that called itself Thunderbyrd. Most of the audience was students, very young, had no idea who they were listening to, they justshowed up because it was an on-campus concert. They were overwhelmed. All around me I heard kids saying "Who the Hell is this guy? How can he be so good and I've never heard of him?" They of course stomped and yelled until they got an encore, and it was *some* encore: the concert had been mostly new material but the encore was five big Byrds top-40 hits in a row, segued into each other without a break a la _Notorious_. It transformed the audience from a large roomful of very enthusiastic kids into a mob of Screaming Fans. Quite something to see, heh heh.

On the other end of the scale, the worst Mcg show I ever caught was at the NYC Fillmore East, the Batten/York/White era Byrds. Again the pertinent fact was the acoustics, this time so wretched where I was that I couldn't hear *anything*. Like sitting in a room with a tiny little radio playing thirty feet away and a monster vacuum cleaner going full blast right beside you. The only reason I haven't wiped the show from memory entirely and freed up those brain cells is this was the first time I heard Chestnut Mare. All I could tell about it was that it was something extraordinary, but I couldn't tell *what*. I left thinking I wish to Ghod I could have heard that one better. It left a major musical unscratched itch until a clean recording finally appeared.

Never heard the all-five-of-'em Byrds live. I was too young to go to concerts by myself then. Drat and blast :-)

Been lurking a long time here -- am a little slow on the uptake electronically, but after a couple of false starts think I've figured out how to send a message and make a little contribution. It's fun to know that there's a place I can come to where I find fellow Byrd buffs. I've been a fan since 1964, when I first heard "Mr. Tambourine Man" while eating a cheeseburger in a Blazo's restaurant in Dearborn, Mich. I think I forgot to chew. Only saw the lads once in concert (MSU auditorium, East Lansing, Feb. 1971). A great performance. McGuinn seemed in fine mood, the band was smoking -- especially in a wonderful rendition of the long version of "Eight Miles High." One of the high points in my rock & roll history -- right up there with the time in 1976 when I was able to sit next to the Ramones' mixing-board guy during one of their concerts in Ann Arbor. Two very different musical experiences, to be sure! Anyhow, just wanted to let everyone know how much I enjoy the group. I've learned some interesting things -- and it's very nice to see the occasional piece from RM himself. OK, I'll go back to my lurk-state now, for a while, anyhow...

San Francisco top 40 radio, 1965: A relatively hip disc jockey plays "Mr. Tambourine Man", and tells us it is a Bob Dylan song performed by the Byrds. It sounds great. I go out and buy the '45 along with the Dylan album, "Bringing It All Back Home", and I am hooked...Sometime in 1967: just after the release of the "Younger Than Yesterday" lp, I caught the four-Byrd line up at the Fillmore in San Francisco. Moby Grape opens up and just blows the place apart (it was while they were recording their first Columbia lp, and they did most of the songs off it.) The Byrds themselves were a bit listless, playing "Hey Joe," "Turn, Turn, Turn", "Bells of Rhymney", "Renaissance Faire". They were supposed to play a second set, but Crosby had taken off. As I walked out, Bill Graham was rushing out the door, running up the street, presumably trying to find Crosby...Sometime later in the late 70's or early 80's, in a small club in Palo Alto, it's McGuinn, Hillman, and Clark. Their first album had just been released. McGuinn encores with an acoustic version of "Eight Miles High", with a solo that is esssentially identical to the recorded version. I'm standing right in front, face up to the acoustic guitar...

When the Byrds first arrived on the music scene, they were a smash not only because of their incredible and innovative sound, but also due to the teenybopper factor: those screaming, crying girls you see in newsreel footage, the ones who formed fan clubs and chased limosines. I must confess I was a member of this not-so-exclusive group, and I thought I'd share a little of that perspective.

When I first heard the Byrds singing 'Mr. Tamborine Man' on the radio in 1965, I was 12 years old. I fell immediately and completely in love with them, especially McGuinn. I lived in Chicago (McGuinn's home town), and my best friend Mary Ellen and I figured out where Roger's (then Jim) mother lived. Along with many other clever teenyboppers around the city who had figured out the same thing, we would occasionally pop in on her to visit, hoping to get the inside scoop on Roger, etc. [Each one of us was privately dead sure that "someday" we would meet him, and he would fall madly in love and we would live happily ever after (of course, you need to keep in perspective that we're talking about the nerdiest preteens imaginable!!)]. Mrs. McGuinn was always very gracious and we would sit on her front steps on those sunny afternoons and spend a good deal of time chatting. One time we went to see her in the winter, and she invited us inside and served us tea...we felt very grown up, of course, and all I could think was "I'm in his house, I'm in his house!!". Giggle, giggle (cringe, cringe)...

The icing on the cake came when I was about 13...Mary Ellen and I decided to ask Mrs. McGuinn for an article of Roger's clothing for a keepsake. She kindly bestowed upon us ... a sock. A black sock. We were ecstatic! We had something of HIS!! We had to share it, though ... one week at her house, one week at mine. This continued for quite some time. Unfortunately, I no longer have the sock, so the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame will simply have to do without [;-)].

Fortunately I grew out of the groupie thing, but I never outgrew the music. As an adult, I started playing guitar and writing songs mainly because of the influence of McGuinn's work. But the sound of the original band...ahh, that sound will forever take me to a very precious place in time!

I was fortunate enough to see Roger McGuinn at the Mariposa folk festival here in Canada a few years ago. He was a major act on one of the main stages and he had a few artists on before him. One of those was Leo Kottke. The show pretty was alright, but not so exciting even though Leo did a great job. When McGuinn came on everything changed. He was alone with his 12 string Rick, and he smoked. There was a crowd, and I mean crowd. They were shouting and cheering and dancing as Roger charged through his repetoire. It was one of the best shows I've ever seen and I'm positive was the highlight of the whole Mariposa event (at least for me, because he was the only reason I went). IMHO it would be difficult for McGuinn to work with another guitar player as he has such a powerful, musical voice that it is difficult to imagine another guitar making any real impact(except for Clarence).

McGuinn is an awesome acoustic player as I've seen him do it, but after seeing him live with his Rick, he rules on the electric. He has shaped its voice to completely suit his playing. IMHO he is a much better electric player and his Rickenbaker 12 string work is revolutionary.

Note to Roger McGuinn: On your next record--and I fully expect a next record, do not bring in hot-shot session musicians to play guitar. They are fine players, but do not interpret your work with the same imagination or force as you do. I buy your records, and listen to the full body of your work because I want to hear you. No flames from Hellecaster fans please.

ROD McLEAN BARKEN ---

"Each corner turned
I hope to find,
Memories of dear friends
Brought to mind..."

High in a monolithic Hollywood office tower we all sat, gazing at a bright red sun setting over the Santa Monicas, loose-limbed and only slightly casual in a disarrayed emotional limboland, The Byrds over there, and us across the room, their office staff and promotional provacateurs, Derek Taylor, the energized team of Tichener and Dickson, secretaries and hangers-on,and myself. Wired with adrenaline still coursing from the pervious night's opening show at Ciro's, we, our cobbled crew, unable to sit, unsure of our footing yet determined to take giant strides into whatever land lay ahead, bounced from wall to wall. Rehearsal was over... The Byrds were finally reality, squared to some grand power.

It was, I recall, 1964, early-on in the Fall. Memory and madness create linear curves around catacylsmic events, warp time, stretch imagination into truth, and such is the stuff of which legends are born and strange trips undertaken. What I know I remember are kaleidascopic colors interwoven in musical harmony, basted with emotions under rows of stagelights, facts tempered by time. It rained later that evening, but we didn't notice.

We called him "Jim" back then, but Roger was the one who'd first come up with the idea of forming a group, back in August, I think. He found David a few days later, who teamed with him to sing harmony. Soon after they pulled in Gene. The jigsaw puzzle assumed a form. David met Mike up in Big Sur shortly thereafter, and he, along with Chris, assimilated into a symbiotic entity that transcended the highest of expectations.

Ciro's. This faded venue of days long gone to the archives of Hollywood nightlife, a discotheque in its most recent existance, gambled on these five unknowns, gave them a shot. We knew they were good; would the creepy-crawlies of the boulevard, the hirsute and bohemian tribes wandering between San Francisco and the Southland, the jaded groupies that knew the words of every British song and the body parts of every recording artist, accept them? We held our breath.

Back then, the music "scene" in LA was fraternal, self-supportive, a cosmos explosive as a newborn star. For the midweek opening night, we called in favors, telegraphed friends, dragged in radio types, the press, the hangers-on, the wannabes. Local musicians, artists and industry-types showed up, hung out.

"Hey, Mr. Tambourine Man, play your song for me..."

It happened. Ciro's happened. The Byrds happened.

By the second week, the crowds came. Standing-room-only, the dancefloor packed with bodies that jumped up and down rather than simply dance. A girl named Brigid and her love-child Godot; Beatle Bob in his raincoat; Vito, the statue maker, and his esoteric band of followers, The Friends of The Hand; Dewey Martin, the drummer from Sir Walter Raleigh & The Coupons, later with Buffalo Springfield; Sonny Bono and his child-bride Cher LaPierre; Cindy Arnold, Tommy Rettig, and a zillion other bit-part actors, believers all.

"...in the jingle, jangle morning/ I'll come following you."

You know the rest of the story.

Hey Roger-

Ed from Safety Harbor, FL again. Flew up to D.C. to visit my sister and take them to your concert at Wolftrap. My first time seeing your show. I took my 12 1/2 year old niece and her friend, my 26 year old slightly mentally retarded nephew, and my 48 year old sister and brother in law. You have gained 5 new fans. (I've been one all along.)

You mentioned your influences. When I was 13 (1968) my guitar teacher turned me on to the Mr. Tambourine man album and have loved the sound since. My niece got her first guitar at Christmas and now she has her first Byrds CD! I got my nephew one too. They couldn't stop talking about your show. I really am glad, I wanted to let her know there is more than Mariah Carey and the Presidents of the United States in music. I'm going to show her how to play Mr. Tambourine Man tomorrow!

My b-in-law and sister knew of the Byrds, but not you - they loved the show. My sister of course grew up on Peter, Paul and Mary - Smothers Brothers, etc. So folk is a sound she loves. My uncle was a folk singer at hootenanys in the Finger Lakes region of New York when he was younger. He used to sing songs to us when we were kids.

You invited me backstage in an email a month or so ago, thanks, but I didn't really try to go back, a lot of folks were hanging around looking for autographs. One day I'd love to talk to you about folk music. I'm really starting to listen to a lot of traditional tunes. Thinking of going to Ireland soon and the whole Celtic music, oral tradition music is becoming of great interest. I was an English major and the whole folklore area when applied to music and storytelling interests my more and more. I dream of chucking the corporate world and immersing myself in it one day. And who knows I might.

Anyway, don't want to ramble. Your show is great. I loved your enthusiasm, love of the music, and performance. Maybe I'll catch you back in Florida one day. (Although Wolftrap is a great venue.)

Oh- I found Cardiff Rose in a record store today in Tyson's Corner - never heard it (I have Back to Rio - love it.) Can't wait to listen to it. You ever do "You Bowed Down" solo??

(My sis has the Irish poem you sang hanging by her door, they loved your rendition and the fact your wife collabarated..)

You ever think about getting involved with a folk music school or perhaps a folklore program in a college? Bet you have a lot of knowledge that doesn't come through in your public performances.

Thanks for a great concert!

Saw an article in Goldmine that mentioned the Byrds' influence on a band I would have never guessed--Blue Oyster Cult. BOC's manager Sandy Pearlman says of their guitarist Buck Dharma, "He had a really wild style. I think he was influenced by McGuinn [Byrds] and Krieger [Doors]."

But the kicker is when Pearlman relates how he applied the term "heavy metal" to music:

 
      "It's not like I thought up the term 'heavy metal'--I'm just the
      guy that stuck it on the music. Some people tell me that William
      Burroughs 'invented' it, but that's just a good joke. That's
      ignorant. They have no knowledge of scientific terminology. The
      truth is, I first stuck it on one song by the Byrds, 'Artificial
      Energy' [from the album The Nortorious Byrd Brothers, Columbia, 
      1968]. That's one of the greatest recordings _ever_, in the
      history of the universe."

Can't wait for the Sony/Legacy reissue of that first metal album.

My earliest memory of the Byrds is from late May of 1965, when I was sitting at my desk, trying to do my homework while gazing out my bedroom window at a beautiful Midwestern sunset. I had my radio tuned in to the local Top 40 station. The intro to "Mr. Tambourine Man"--and the song itself--gave me such a charge that I could only articulate "Wow!" The dj sort of made light of the spelling of the band's name, but I could tell he dug the song.

Since I took that first jingle-jangle trip, I've seen Roger McGuinn perform in various incarnations: the Byrds in late 1972 (with Clarence, Skip, and drummer John Guerin); Roger McGuinn & Band in 1974 and 1975 (the only time I ever heard him perform "It Won't Be Wrong"--and it was blistering); Thunderbyrd in 1977 (at the Roxy in L.A.); M-C-H in 1978 and 1979 (at the '79 show he roller skated onto the stage for the band's final encore and did figure eights); and in 1992 with a tight little band ("Headlight" or "Headlights"--from Florida, I think) whose set was highlighted by a stunning, edgy version of Eight Miles High.

I have wonderful memories of all the concerts, particularly an event that occurred after the RM&B show in late 1974. Standing outside in the rain and cold for some time, I finally met Roger and his bandmates. He was friendly and gracious, if somewhat modest. He autographed my empty record jacket of his first solo album. I told him that my buddies and I had never been able to determine the chorus from NBB's "Get to You." With no hesitation, Roger tilted his head back slightly and sang "Oh, that's a little better" a cappella. I was so pumped after meeting him that I couldn't fall asleep once I got back to my hotel room. So, I got up, dressed, and drove the 300 miles back home early the next morning to show everyone my autographed record jacket and tell them what happened.

In 1978, two of my buddies and I drove 17 straight hours to Colorado to catch two MCH shows. We arrived during the soundcheck, so we waited until Roger, Gene and Chris exited through the stage door. I proudly showed off my Dodge van's custom paint job, courtesy of two other buddies of mine who didn't make the trip. The hood was emblazoned with a dead-on rendering of the eagle clutching the Ric (i.e., the cover of "Peace On You"). The right rear door, which was painted by the same artist friend, featured a beautiful chestnut mare rearing and kicking. Another artist friend had painted--in kind of an old-time Western-style font--the words "Younger Than Yesterday" in all caps on the left rear door. (The van, bless its 6-cylinder heart, is in scrap yard heaven, but the hood and doors reside in my garage.)

I wanted to share a few of my experiences with all of you here in Byrd Memories as a way to say thanks for contributing your experiences. I've enjoyed reading them. I hope there'll be more. If I can get into a chat room on the Byrds, we can swap stories, opinions and info. In the meantime, TURN out the lights, TURN up the volume and TURN on to the Byrds.

Back in the 1960s pop groups had this aura of being unapproachable. Girls chased them, and as a result they generally locked themselves in hotel rooms until it was time for a show. When I compare pictures of Roger Mcguinn then and now, I see "then" pictures of one who didn't seem to smile that much. Perhaps it was that aura of being unapproachable. Perhaps the lyrics to "So You Want To Be A Rock N Roll Star" were more true than we knew. "Now" I see pictures of a man who is very approachable, does smile a lot, and who patiently answers all of his e-mail.He also plays a mean guitar, something for which he has not always received full recognition.

The Rickenbacker 12-string has the sound of diamonds raining down on sheets of silver, and the first time I really heard this sound, even after George Harrison's Hard Days's Night debut of the fabled guitar, was on the opening chords of Mr. Tambourine Man, and later the supremely haunting Bells of Rhymney. I saw the original five Byrds during the winter of 1965, in concert at McCormick Place in Chicago. Mcguinn wore the granny glasses and played his Rick through a gaggle of Fender Amps, including a Dual Showman and a Super Reverb; Crosby wore the cape and played the Gretsch; Hillman played the large Epiphone bass ala' Paul Samwell-Smith of the Yardbirds; Michael Clark looked very young and Gene Clark eventually picked up an acoustic guitar. Later, incredibly, in 1969, I stood no more than 6 feet from Mcguinn as he, Clarence White, John York and Gene Parsons performed the Byrds classics and newer songs from the Easy Rider album at a teen club called The Blue Village in Westmont, Illinois. It is hard to describe my feelings as I stood close enough to smell the tubes in his Twin Reverb amp, while I watched his hands playing the solos to Eight Miles High. Only the voice of a beautiful woman like Linda Ronstadt can rival the crystal punch of a Rick 12-string, played by a master,through an overdriven Fender tube amp . . .

The summer of 1965 I was struggling to get my own little band teenage together when Mr.Tambourine Man, the song and the lp hit the charts. Although we were headed in a Rolling Stones/Yardbirds direction, the Byrds really turned us around. When we learned they would be coming to Rockford, IL (25 miles away) we HAD to go.

With a ride form our bandmate's sister (none of us had licenses yet), we attended our first-ever performance by a national act. The date was July 10, 1965 at Rockford College. For a madras-shirted lad from a small town, this concert would turn out to be one of the most influential I ever attended.

The warm-up band was the Blackstones from Chicago. (A member of this band would later go on to fame in The Shadows of Knight who "adopted" some Byrds jangle themselves.) As the Blackstones played we noticed a number of people who didn't seem to fit the midwestern college student mold and guessed they must have come with the Byrds. There were girls with long straight hair, guys with longish hair (which hadn't caught on locally yet), and one guy we were sure was a Byrd in a Russian-looking hat. Turns out this was Bryan Mclean, later of Love.

Although it was July and hot, the Byrds took the stage dressed as they looked in the press: turtlenecks, jackets, jeans. Except David Crosby who wore his green suede cape, of course. This was the "tambourine" band: Jim McGuinn, David Crosby, Michael Clarke, Gene Clark, and Chris Hillman. I believe they played a little over an hour. It was apparent that they didn't have several sets worth of material yet, and I wish I could remember what songs they played over and above those on Tambourine Man, but the only one that comes to mind is Jackie DeShannon's "Every Time You Walk in the Room." Other observations that stick with me, some thirty plus years later (has it been that long?) are Crosby's constant smile and the fact that McGuinn played with his fingernails.

The Blackstones came back for another set, and then it was announced that the Byrds would play until the close of the concert. I want to believe that this would have been a couple hours, but I can't say for sure. As we were underage, we had to leave before the end of the night. I do remember that we found a way to get up behind them from a floor above and watch them perform below and in from of us, which was pretty cool

. About a year later (I remember because "For What It's Worth" was just being played on the radio) my drummer called me and asked if I wanted to meet McGuinn's parents. At first I thought he was joking, but he maintained that they had moved from Chicago to a small town near us and Mr. McGuinn senior was heading a local publishing company. Where he got the tip, I don't remember, but he had called them, told them what huge Byrds fans we were, and they had invited us over. Naturally we went.

They were very nice, sociable people who seemed very unlike what I had imagined Chicagoans to be like. We met Roger's (then Jim) younger brother, who was dressed in a Levi jacket (or maybe Army jacket) covered in buttons with different slogans on them and wingtipped shoes. We had several Cokes and they played us the demo of what became the Younger Than Yesterday album, I think. They didn't stay in the area too long, maybe a year, but I got a nice note from Mrs. McGuinn who later took over the Byrds Fan Club and remembered me from this night.

To say that the Byrds influenced me, us, the world is an under- statement. I still talk with friends from our little band, and the Byrds and their influence and artistry still come up, along with the wonderful memories we share.

I have seen Roger McGuinn several times over the years. I own EVERY Byrds album, with many duplicated on different formats, as well as the offshoot and solo projects. I still get a "12-string chill" when I hear "Mr. Tambourine Man." I still get tears listening to those beautiful harmonies.

Thank you Byrds for the soundtrack of my youth.

I don't recall when I first became aware of The Byrds, but undoubtedly it was at the time "Mr.Tambourine Man" was a hit. I do remember hearing it extensively on AM radio. I know I was mesmerized by the sound of McGuinn's Rick 12-string and the vocal harmonies. "Turn, Turn, Turn" really got to me, as it still does today. Of course, I bought the first three albums as soon as they were released, and although I liked them all, and still do, the one that knocked me out was "Younger Than Yesterday," with it's backward tapes, sound effects, and avant garde vibe. Back then, I liked music that was experimental, and of course, The Byrds always tried new things. I recall showing some of my parents' friends the album (my folks had a cocktail party the same day I bought the album), and trying to explain just what this band was all about.

Like a jerk, I blew the only opportunity I ever had to see the original band. It was the summer of 1966, and it was one of the last vacations I ever took with my parents, in Hyannis, Massachusetts (Cape Cod). The Byrds, minus Gene Clark by then, were playing at a local teen club hangout, and for some reason still unbeknownst to me, I didn't go. Instead, I went the next night to see some local New England band called The Pilgrims. What a blunder.

I caught The Byrds many times in the seventies, at Central park in NYC, the Fillmore East, etc. Although I preferred the original lineup (and still do), the Parsons/White version of the band was a great live act.

Today, after all these years, I've come to realize that The Byrds were my favorite sixties rock band. Although The Who, The Beatles, The Yardbirds, The Stones, Moby Grape, Buffalo Springfield, and The Velvet Underground are right up there, The Byrds reign supreme as the premier American sixties band. The sound they pioneered continues to be a strong influence on bands everywhere.

And that's an amazing legacy.

Now if we could only convince McGuinn, Hillman and Crosby to tour again...

John Riccio ---

I was a folkie,..that's all I can come up with after 35 years of every injection of music that you could think of. I was exposed early to different music, being young in 1965 had it's benefits as the world was exploding in music and in the music business there were like explosions. I was raised on folk music supplied in large quantities by the friend's of my college-attending sisters, from 1963 to 1968. Often ending up on the rug, curled and listening to sweet cover-voices sing Judy Collins, Joan Baez, Dylan, Cohen, Tom Rush and the like. The instrumentals were covers of Bob Gibson Ray, Glover...and others. Pete Seeger , Phil Ochs and the like.  I HAD to learn to play the guitar and reproduce those sounds; the
chords and sweet finger picking that ran over these stories and tales of
everything from love lost to political-dramas played out in bare symbolism
or cocky attack and humor. I learned from these records and than finally
with the advent of popular crossovers, Paul Simon & Art Garfunkle made
selling folk records a pop-art. All of those great S&G albums were paired with song books, that gave you the piano and guitar chord diagrams above the lyrics. God Bless those books, they started myself on a musical path that is still a major part of my life. I could play these and learn from them.

It was the sixties, The Beatles and the Monkees. However this music
seemed contrived to me, it told no stories, and had no meaning past the lyrics all to often. Then came the Byrds.

Like most people when they first heard the Byrds, it's a magical alchemy of
folk&rock&swirling electric guitar that reached back for songs and into the
future for sound(s). The voices, the guitars and the 
Sweet harmonies and a anti-hero image at times. San Francisco exploded, and
with that came the reverb-acid drenched sounds of the Jefferson Airplane and
Grateful Dead, not a 'polished ' as the Byrds were in the Studio up to that time, and a raw anti-everything attitude. 

It was quite pronounced at times, as Mr. Kevin Bayne will attest, as
to which side you fell on so many musical questions in High School. Looking
back I laugh and consider these defenses as reel first musical challenges
supplied by so many well thinking friends and classmates. However, even
playing in a hard rock band at the time did not stop a constant flow of folk
electric and acoustic music. I good friend of mine who had relatives in a
Byrds cover band offered me a ticket to see The Byrds, the C. White version
of the band, Somewhere around the Untitled time-frame. C.W. Post college,
in a dome now taken down by the weight of the snow, I saw the Byrds in 1972.
I can remember just reaching into each and every delivery of every tune as a
fantastic guitar and vocal experiment; and the skills of Clarence White;
where rock&rock didn't offer such grace on a fretboard to this amazing
level. He is missed.

The Byrds changed, and Roger's first solo LP came out in 1973. I
actually quit playing rock& roll Because at the end of the day, I needed to
get to the base of what I really loved and that was folk, country and
acoustic blues music. To consider today, I left a band that has presented
the world with one of the finest guitar instrumentalists some 20 years
later, we are still good friends. 

I approached the eighties with Roger's solo LP still under my arm,
and with a set full of his tunes and that of many other artists. Teaching
guitar and performing in small folk groups and some larger bands was a
thrill, and still going to see Roger every chance I get. In 1993,
performing in Princeton N.J., I presented the crowd with 'I'm So Restless',
a great tune during a solo spot. One person - One person approached me after
the set and told me that it had been years and years since they have heard
that song and it brought them back to a great time in their life. I was
thrilled, but got to thinking..I've played this song maybe 50-100 times in
the past years, and writing mostly mine own material, I felt really guilty -
the song was not mine, and I play it.

Glad to see the world open up on the internet, I had an opportunity
to thank Roger for all the songs and the dedication to the art of the song &
guitar. Contacting Roger, I offered him the $15.00 for all the $0.15 royalties he should have gotten for those performances; He laughed, he told me that if that was the case, just think how much money he owes Bob Dylan. I laughed as well, and put I'm So Restless back into the set list and proudly announce the year/title(s) of Rogers songs. When I teach, The eyes of students still light up when they master Mr. Tamb'm Man, ...it's still the light. OK, I saw the reunion tour of the Jefferson Airplane, and long story short, ..changing the strings on my Martins, pure steel and wood, is  where the heart lies. Still teaching guitar and performing, I'm So Restless and Hanoi Hanna made the set lists just 
Last week in Bound Brook, N. J. I kept the 'hat' money,..and put $5.00 into
flood-relief bucket, for Roger. Thanks Roger.

Rick Lieberman ---

I first saw the (original) Byrds on Long Island, headlining over the
Young Rascals & the Dillards. They introduced their new release, which
I'd never heard before, and which was "Eight Miles High." At this point
most of the rock concerts I'd been to were various Beatles shows, so it
was a novelty to actually hear a group without much straining, although
there was some crowd screaming. I saw the Clarence-era Byrds a couple
times at Fillmore East, then on a double bill with the Flying Burrito
Bros. at Carnegie Hall. But as cool as all those events were, the best
"real Byrds" sound to me came across, surprisingly, at a McGuinn, Clark
& Hillman show at the Bottom Line in NYC. Keith Richards sat at the
table immediately in front of us (I think John Belushi was sitting with
him), the volume was earsplittingly loud, and the feel was like the
first Byrds album had just become 3D -- I guess I should say 5D, before
someone else does. After that I saw McGuinn solo in Central Park, which
made a big impression on me because, packed as the place was, Roger
walked around the crowd, all the way to the back, during the earlier
acts, just digging what was going on and radiating pure friendliness.
I would just like to add that, even as a 14-year-old, I always
considered Cher having the bigger hit with "All I Really Want To Do" to
be a radio injustice almost on a par with Pat Boone having the bigger
hit with "Tutti Frutti", Today, my 5-year-old daughter thinks she's Sweetheart 
Of the Rodeo (& she's right, you know).

Scott ---

Bobby Todaro --

kadler@lyon.edu